According to the latest ‘chart’ of the top ten universities it seems that only science counts. MIT number 0ne, Imperial number 2.
“As a template for success, it means that the winners are likely to be large, prestigious, research-intensive universities, with strong science departments and lots of international collaborations.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29086590
And there is a lot more financial support for science research likely to include international collaborations. So the die is somewhat cast.
Arts and Humanities Research Council budget – typically £100M
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council budget – typically £800M
(I have not included the Economic and Social Research Council or the Medical Research Council both of whom have a science ethos and add to total of science funding in the UK)
So it follows that the arts are increasing disadvantaged and bullied into collaborations either with business or with science – where we sell our souls – usually quite badly – and here’s me a champion of interdisciplinary – still I do get annoyed – even from my relatively pro arts/science collaborative position.
Come on you poets, opera buffs, embroiderers, landscape artists, taxidermists and ventriloquists – time to stand up for the beautiful, life enhancing, irrational folly that is art – at least lets get some actual music teachers in state schools not the IT person who who can boot-up ‘Sibelius’ (notation software)